Recordpub.com - Third winning season in three decades still in sight for Flashes

The bye week arrived at the right time for Kent State’s football team.

Having a week off gave the Golden Flashes a little extra time to regroup after a painful loss at the University of Akron on Nov. 7.

It also allowed several key players a chance to heal in time for what could be a season-making final two games.

“If you’ve had a bad year to this point, it doesn’t matter,” Kent State head coach Doug Martin said. “But to a team like we are right now or a team that has a winning record, the last two weeks of November determine if you are a winner or a loser. That’s where it is. That’s where I want (players) to understand where we are. This is where you want to be. We control if we are going to be a winning team or a losing team.”

The Golden Flashes (5-5) can clinch their first winning season since 2001 and just their third winning season in more than three decades with wins Saturday at Temple and in the season finale at Dix Stadium on Nov. 27 against Buffalo.

The bye week should help KSU get starting running back Jacquise Terry back on the field in time to play Temple.

Terry sprained the MCL in his knee early in the loss to Akron.

“He wouldn’t have been able to play if we had a game last week,” said Martin.

Trainers planned to check the sophomore’s ability to move laterally on Monday. They hoped to have him back on the practice field by Tuesday.

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ONE BENEFIT TO OFFICIAL’S CALL — More than a few KSU fans have asked if the school plans to protest Wisconsin-Green Bay’s men’s basketball victory over the Flashes on Sunday in the Hispanic College Fund Classic at the M.A.C. Center.

UWGB won the game on a last-second shot that arguably never should have counted after a series of calls that could be debated.

“Now, I’m the athletic director for Kent State, but I think the ball was out of bounds,” said Laing Kennedy, referencing the play.

Kent State has asked the Mid-American Conference to review the play. The Flashes’ only real hope is an apology from the league, although an internal reprimand on the official may be more likely.

More importantly, the Flashes have decided to learn from their own frustration.

From now on, Kent State will have a video monitor available at the scorer’s table to give officials a chance to review instant replay.

Technically, officials could not have overruled Sunday’s game-winning basket even after noticing the foul or the ball rolling out of bounds on replay. But they may have been able to determine the play took more than three seconds when only 2.7 remained on the overtime clock.

“We have the capabilities to have instant replay available,” said Kennedy. “Everything is in place. From now on, we are going to have a monitor at the scorer’s table whether the game is on television or not. We have a great system with the (stadium’s video boards), there is no reason not to have a monitor. It won’t change what happened last night, but it will be one more little step in making our facility first class.”

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A CHANCE TO LEARN — Chris Singletary played limited minutes after getting into early foul trouble against both UAB and Wisconsin-Green Bay in Kent State’s final two games of the Hispanic College Fund Classic.

Foul trouble has been a problem for Singletary during his career, partly because he of his aggressive nature and his willingness to take chances defensively and also because of the power in his drives to the basket on the other end.

Singletary is such a key to the Flashes’ success, they can’t afford to have him spend almost half of a game on the bench.

The good news is Singletary seems to understand the problem and is eager to make adjustments.

“That’s something I can control,” Singletary said after Sunday’s loss to Green Bay. “I can control picking up those fouls. It’s something I have to control, managing those fouls and not taking myself out of the game. It only hurts me and my team, picking up those silly fouls.”

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David Carducci can be contacted at dcarducci@recordpub.com